Man For Others - Totus2us

Fr Raymond, a Jesuit priest from America: "It is the most wonderful thing in the world to be a priest; the greatest joy I could have. I have so many spiritual children, I feel like an endless life of Abraham who bears children in his old age, it is a delight. And a delight to be part of the priestly brotherhood, the greatest privilege of course is to stand at the altar and confect the sacrament and to bring the Body and Blood of Christ to others. And along with it, the greatest joy I have is being able to absolve people of their sins, even as I myself have profited and continue to profit endlessly from the graces of Calvary given me in the sacrament of confession. And then of course the other sacraments. It is the greatest life you can have. I bless and thank God for the wonderful priests I have known and it is the greatest blessing God could have given me to help me now form other young men to serve the Church of Jesus Christ as wait for His second coming in glory. Amen." Music by Mike Mangione. For much mor

Fr George, from Nigeria: "St Francis lived a life of humility, he attended to the needs of the poor, he lived a life of chastity. Because also of his humility after his diaconate ordination he refused to be ordained a priest because, according to him, when a priest celebrates Mass, he conceives Christ during that Mass and then gives birth to Him and then he gives Him to people and as a human being, he didn't feel worthy of that honour and so he stopped as a deacon. My parish priest, Monsignor Joseph, he was down to earth when he was with us, he served us as a servant, he took care of our spiritual needs and he was just like a sheep shepherd. And John Paul II, he said 'Totus Tuus', that is 'I am totally yours' and that is seen in his life. Even when his health was telling on him he was still struggling to serve the people and that is the spirit of the good shepherd, which Christ exemplified. The lives of these 3 people have been influencing my life, influencing my parish work as a priest. I continue to pray t

Fr Peter, from Nigeria: "As a young boy I observed him meeting people in their situations of life in their various houses. He usually visited us in our homes, so by that, his presence among the people of God, I was highly inspired. I started from there the idea of being a priest because, due to his disposition to people, to meet them in their various situations, people loved him, so I had an expectation that one day I would be like him ... his attitude towards the people of God made me want to become one and I am happy to be a priest. And I can't say everything without John Paul II, his personality .. He influenced me how he shepherded the people of God of his own time, he used everything, even at the point of his death. Some people said that he should step down, he asked them 'Did Christ step down at the point of his agony?' He continued to be at the cross, to carry the cross until the appointed time and now he has been glorified as one who has triumphed. So I pray that God will give me that same spirit, to

Fr Danko, a Franciscan priest from Herzegovina, now in Medjugorje: "There was a big battle inside me and I couldn't support this. One day, after Communion, I sat down in the last bench in an old church in Mostar and I told Jesus, "Jesus, I will die a healthy sportsman, because I can't support this pressure. And I have to decide and right now I decide, I will become your priest." At that moment, I felt like a burden of about 500 kilos that had been on my shoulders just disappeared. And at that time I saw that I guessed. Now I have been a priest for 11 years, I am 41 years old and if I had to be born 100 times I would choose to become a Franciscan priest, because I am very happy, as a priest, as a Franciscan and as a man, because Jesus calls me and gives me the grace to say 'Yes, I go with you'. ... If somebody is in the cross to be or not to be a priest or not, I recommend do not be afraid, go ahead, and Jesus will give you big grace. What's important - don't be afraid." Music by Mike Mangione. For much more,

Fr John, a Jesuit priest from England, whose vocation story began with Fatima: "Then it dawned on me that to be able to forgive sins would be more wonderful and I thought of the priesthood. To be able to forgive one serious sin, just once in one's life, to be the instrument God used to bring that person back into union with Himself, to turn that person's life into a thing of beauty, and that is what happens when a Catholic gets his sins forgiven, I thought that would be worth everything .. Then, more and more, it dawned on me what the Mass was - I haven't got used to it yet! That I'm used by God to bring the moment of the Passion of Jesus, actually present in that church, and to bring the moment of the Resurrection, actually present in that Church. And that the Lamb of God that I hold between my fingers, is present in that Church, that heaven has transfixed earth there. Now if that is the case, and it is, what a privilege!" Music by Mike Mangione. For much more, visit Totus2us.com which is inspired by Pope Jo

Mark, a seminarian from England: "The message of the Gospel is that God loved us so much that He came in Christ to reconcile us to Him. So I think that my vocation to the priesthood is about sharing the immense love that God has for us in coming among us as Jesus Christ. I think that what the priesthood has to offer the world is Jesus and that's what the world needs to hear. And of course we receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and in my life the Eucharist has been the centre and the foundation of whom I am as a Christian and hopefully who I will be as a priest." Music by Mike Mangione. For much more, visit Totus2us.com which is inspired by Pope John Paul II and Papa Benedict XVI. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus2us.

Fr Thomas, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal from America: "I knew that if the priesthood was what God wanted for me, that was where I would be happiest. That was so key for me. I did not really want to be a priest at that point still, and yet I said 'Lord, if you are calling me, then I know that that is where I will be happiest.' I think I had heard that somewhere before but it just stayed with me and I used it, in a real time of crisis I guess, or a real moment of grace if you want to look at it that way. And that was when He started to give me the desire, because that is what I had said, 'God, you are going to have to give me that desire, if that is what you really want.' ... If you are being called, then that is where you will be happiest. You may not realise it yet, but God will give you the joy of heart." Music by Mike Mangione. For much more, visit Totus2us.com which is inspired by Pope John Paul II and Papa Benedict XVI. Totus Tuus (All Yours) was JPII's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to u

Fr Anthony, a Jesuit priest from England: "A thing that Father McKenna said to me before the novitiate was a great help, "If you ever think of leaving, wait 2 weeks." It is very good practical advice, so you are not just swayed by emotion and you reflect a bit more.. Not long before my vows, when I was seeing the novice master, I said "Do you really think I have a Jesuit vocation?" And there was a long pause that seemed to last forever, and he said "Do you?" That is a very good way of treating a vocation, I think: it has to come back to the person, to reflect, to look at their own heart and their own mind and not to be swayed too much by other people." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Peter, a Mariannhill Missionary from Zimbabwe: "Talking about my own story of my faith and the story of my vocation, I was inspired mostly by my father, who was a catechist.. In the family he has been my source of inspiration; seeing him dedicated and committed in evangelisation and working with different priests as well; being active as a youth, as I was growing up, through his influence and encouragement. He was not forcing us in any way to go to church in any way but it became part of our life as a family. We would not sleep without praying together as a family, this was mostly his encouragement. The prayer in the evening was so important. And getting involved with the youth, that was so interesting and motivating for me.. From an early age I was very clear what I wanted to do; I thought of myself as a priest.. this was deep in my heart, this was what I wanted." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything

Daniel, a seminarian from England: "In my prayer about this, it occurred to me that the yes of Maximlian Kolbe, the yes of Cassie Burnall, weren't the first yes that they had uttered to God. In order to say yes on the big occasions, I believe you have to practice it, you have to practice saying yes to God and that means saying yes to God in small things. Saying yes in the every day means that when the time for the big yes comes, we will be so practiced at saying yes to God that it will just come out of our mouth naturally just like Mary, when she said yes to the angel. 'Be it done unto me according to thy word' - that comes from a life of saying yes to God and that is what strikes me about Maximilian Kolbe - his life of saying yes to God. It cost him his life but in doing that he followed the way of our Saviour Jesus. Jesus' yes to God in the Garden of Gethsemane and throughout his whole life led to the Cross, and it should also lead us to the Cross. And that is why Maxmilian Kolbe to me is an inspiration and

Fr Stanislaus, a Mill Hill Missionary priest from Congo: "When I was ordained a deacon, I was touched very much by words of admonition: "Receive the Gospel of Christ under whose head you are. Believe what you read, preach what you believe and put into practice what you preach." Those words really touched my heart and I took it as a challenge in my own life as someone dedicated to this vocation. By virtue of ordination I have joined a ministerial priesthood, I was made an ecclesial person and I understood that I have to become now an agent of Christ. .. In the process of my ministry I have learned to be a shepherd of the people and, in the words of Kasper, the priesthood is understood as a service towards Christ and so whoever does so becomes what he does, one who lives for others as Christ did. ..It is a privilege to celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrament of the Church, the sacrament which unites the people of God ..It is a blessing to be the channel through which the Lord offers humanity the food of eterna

Fr Martin, from England: "Father Maurice lived in France in the 19th century and I have just finished reading the extraordinary correspondence he had with St Theresa of Lisieux. He was struggling both as a priest and as a Christian. He opened his heart to the Little Flower and she told him 'Confidence, nothing but confidence leads us to God's love.' She also gave him great courage by saying 'When we are in heaven, we shall share in the infinite mercy of the Lord.' " Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Jon, from England: "The sense of fatherhood dawned on me more powerfully when I was first given my parish after 5 years of ordination. After the first week-end of Sunday Masses the thought came to me very clearly and simply that I was able to feed these people with Jesus in the Eucharist. Just like a father would feed his family .. as a spiritual father I have done much the same thing in a spiritual way feeding them with Christ Himself to build them up and strengthen them for the week ahead ... We are called to be messengers of hope .. everybody needs a sense of hope ..the hope we are talking about is a hope rooted in Jesus, in his kingdom, in eternal life; it is a hope that is based on Jesus' death and resurrection. It is the surest, greatest, deepest hope we are going to ever come across and that should always inspire us and be part of the message we are passing on. I think that is vital as a priest." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus -

Fr John, a Marist priest from New Zealand: "All through these 55 years there have been other priests who have inspired me. In my earlies years they were elderly priests, men who had born the burdens and the heats .. All of them were what I would call big men - big in mind, big in heart. A broadness about them that made them affable and friendly towards all. Wonderful priests. I retain these memories all my days, examples to me to live up to. Amen." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Runaine, a seminarian from South Africa: "Truly a man for others, his priesthood was characterised by his faithful witness to Jesus Christ, his faithfulness to the Holy Mass and the prayer of the Church, and his availability to God's people, day and night, in moments of joy and sorrow. Today I am aspiring to be a priest because of Father Sean's example of a priest being in the person of Christ." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Francis, from England: "A priest not only gives up things in his life, he receives consolations.. The greatest consolation is simply to offer the sacrifice of the Mass every day. Every time that I hold up the Host before communion and say 'This is the Lamb of God', these words are still as fresh and full of wonder as on the first day that I celebrated Mass on my own. The great thing is to have gratitude to God for one's vocation, every day." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Jacob June, a seminarian from Kenya: "All my life I have been meditating on the life of Cardinal Otunga - he lived a very simple life, a life of celibacy, of simplicity, the life of poverty, of obedience, and this really attracted me .. At seminary, he was a very humble and hardworking man. He was the first Cardinal in Kenya and was a man who lived life to the fullest.. He really fought for the injustices in Kenya. He really was very free and spoke clearly to the people, telling people now to shun all the injustices and that people should embrace love. His main work was 'Love your brother as you love yourselves'. And the most of the time in his life he would meditate on the scripture of John, chapter 17; that I pray the Christian prayer that all my brothers and sisters may be one, and that they may be consecrated in spirit and in truth." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Anish, a Mill Hill Missionary from India: "In my childhood I was an altar boy and I helped with the Eucharist. Seeing the life of the priest, especially my parish priest, the way he speaks, the way he was dealing with people, his way of life itself, was an inspiration to me. So when I was a child I decided, I had that desire in me, that I would like to become a priest." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Anthony, of the Society of Jesus, observes how he was inspired by his parish priest Father Clement Lloyd Russell and the Jesuit Fathers Cyril Martindale, George Walkerly and David Hoy. Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Stan, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal from America, talks about Karol Woytyla: "Pope John Paul II, was and is an inspiration to me because he is a man who allowed God to let his humanity flourish and lead him into the depths of the mystery that God is and that is essentially love, to the point where, as he himself has said, it is love that has explained everything to him." Music by Mike Mangione. Visit Totus2us.com for more. Pope John Paul II's motto was to Mary: Totus Tuus - All Yours. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.